Jacksonville Florida Real Estate

March 2011 64% of Jacksonville FL Houses Sold Were Distressed Properties

  Distressed property sales, short sales and bank-owned property, continue to dominate the  Jacksonville FL real estate market.

The percentage of Jacksonville real estate market transactions that were distressed sales continued to increase from February (up from 62% of sales to 64% of non-builder sales) Other numbers show a worsening real estate market for Jacksonville home owners as well. 

In February the percentage of straight resales sold (non-distressed, non-builder) was 35% of the market.  In March this number dropped to less than a third of the Jacksonville real estate market sales at only 32% of all sales.

This is negative news for Jacksonville home sellers.  Home prices continue to decline with the high level of distressed properties on the market.  It is very important for the Jacksonville home seller to price their home correctly to have a shot of competing with the distressed properties. 

 Jacksonville home buyers are choosing price. 

 
While almost 60% of Jacksonville FL houses on the market today are straight resales (non-distressed, non-builder) that is not what is selling at a high level.  As evidenced by the statistics, Jacksonville home buyers are picking from a smaller pool of listings (short sales and bank-owned properties) to look for value. That is why we are seeing such a high level of short sales and bank-owned properties sold, because in general, they are priced at the low-end and represent the best values for Jacksonville home buyers.

Jacksonville Short Sales. Carrington Turned Down Short Sale, Home Now Listed as Jacksonville Foreclosure for 84% of Our Jacksonville Short Sale Contract Price!!!

ARE BANKS IN THE BUSINESS TO LOSE MONEY?  

Of course not!  Right?  Read on.... 

Jacksonville Short Sale Transaction Facts:

• Jacksonville Short Sale Contract Date - May 2009
• Contract Price for Short Sale - $237,500
• Appraised value of the home July 2009 - $240,000
• Carrington's Demand for Purchase Price on the Jacksonville Short Sale - $255,000 (!!!) Which they admitted was above fair market value.    SEE CARRINGTON'S REJECTION OF THE JACKSONVILLE SHORT SALE HERE.
• Buyer walked at the end of August 2009.


Servicer / Loan Originator / Investor Facts:

• Servicer - Carrington Mortgage Services (CMS)
• Original Loan Originator - New Century Mortgage (You can read about the lawsuits they disclosed to the SEC in 2007 here.)
• Investor Type : Mortgage Backed Security
• Investor's Trustee -  Wells Fargo
• Investor on Loan -  Carrington Mortgage Loan Trust, Series 2006-NC3 (no filings were found with the SEC since 2007 when they filed a Form 15 (under Rule 15d-6) representing they had fewer than 300 security holders of record) and the subsequently filed 10K.

House currently on the market as a Jacksonville foreclosure / Jacksonville REO for only $199,900.

 So not only have they lost almost two additional years of payments, but the bank/investor/trustee priced the home now that is an REO at only 78% of their above-fair-market value demand back in 2009.

Why?  Why turn away a ready, willing and able (and eager!!!) buyer to only hold onto an asset (in this case a home with a loan that had gone bad,  that they had to take back as an asset) in a declining market and lose an additional $40,000?  Is this in the best interest of the investors?   Insurance companies?  The sellers who are awesome people that were trying to do the right thing?  The taxpayers who keep throwing money at the banks through no decision of their own?

Are banks really in the business to lose money?  Why would they refuse a fair-market-value offer then wait two years to put the home on the market for approximately $40,000 LESS than what we had for them through our Jacksonville short sale?

This is not an uncommon event.  Who wins  when a Jacksonville short sale contract is rejected then the home goes back to the bank...then is listed for far less?

Hey Jacksonville Real Estate Consumer...Do You Want Truth or Do You Want Spin?

If you are a prospective real estate buyer or seller, do you want the truth?  Do you want a "head in the clouds" version of the truth?  Or would you prefer to be lied to so you feel better about your situation?

I know these seem like silly questions, right?

Well they are not, because we witness human behavior mixed with real estate every day.  We are big at watching the stats and dealing with the reality of the Jacksonville Real Estate market, no matter what that reality may be.  We can not change the current Jacksonville real estate market by spinning it into a story that would be prettier to tell or a story that will massage someone's feelings.  We decided a while ago, despite an industry push to always spin pretty, to always tell the truth whether it makes the prospective buyer or seller feel good or not. 

When we talk to a seller, we do not tell the seller what they want to hear unless it coincides with reality.  If we lie to make a seller feel good, who are we helping?  If we tell you that your home is worth $300,000 when the reality is that the comparable sales indicate it is only worth $250,000...are we helping you?  What can you anticipate happening in that type of situation?  Do you think you will sell your home in this market for $300,000 when the other sales show that $250,000 is what it is worth?  Then why would you try?  Yet some sellers will chose the agent that says they can sell it for $300,000 (and there will always be somebody who will)  when there are no sales even close to that price in recent history. 

If you don't have to sell your home right now, then you should not.  That is the truth.  That being said, we can not predict when it might get better for sellers.  We would like to think that the market is going to turn around dramatically next week...but we would not be honest if we made you any type of promise that this is the case.

If you have to sell your home, please be sure you chose a great, honest agent to do the job.  Otherwise, the job may never be done and you may end up in worse circumstances than you are in right now.

Buyers--do not buy a home anticipating instant appreciation.  There are no guarantees.  A bargain today could be grossly overpaid for tomorrow.  Or it may not.  Buy your home to live in, and make sure it is something you can afford. Ignore industry reports.  Be realistic.  No one can predict the real estate market.  Don't listen to some one who tells you they can.  Demand comps before you put in an offer.  Educate yourself and make your decisions for the right reasons.

We Caught a Scammer Trying to "Rent Out" One of Our Jacksonville Area Real Estate Listings...Be Careful!

We got suspicious when we got the first call wanting to rent one of our Jacksonville area listings for well below market rent.  We simply told the prospect that the house was for sale and for rent, but the rent was actually much higher than what they were asking about.

By the time we got the second and third call we knew something was wrong.  The third caller argued with us that we had listed the house for rent for $800/month on Craig's List.  We went in and found the ad.  It didn't mention our names or number, but they did use the copyrighted pictures we had taken of the home.  We called the owner and asked if they had advertised the house for rent for $800.  The husband said there was no way they would do that, but he would confirm with his wife.

The scary thing is that the person obviously looked at the tax record and set up an e-mail address that was very close to the name of the owner.  So we responded to the ad at the provided e-mail address.  Here is the response  we got:

"Hi,
I did get your response concerning the AD I posted on craigslist. The house is still available but presently I'm not around.. I did bid for a portion of petroleum land sometimes ago in West Africa and fortunately I won the  bidding so I have to move quickly down to Africa to have my company set up because I will still have to rebid for it in the next 10 years. I came over here with my wife, we both bought the house when we got married. As soon as we settle down here I had a thought of selling the house so I have to look for an agent, after getting one, we got a deal but later my wife advised against that. She said we may not be able to win the bidding next  time, in other to keep our head when we return that we have to keep the house. I reasoned with her and accepted her advise. So I contacted the agent back and requested for my keys and documents. Later we decided to  have the house rent out, we would have give the same agent this job also but the truth of the matter is that the agent would want to handle it professionally and the occupant may not be able to reason along with him later. If you notice, you will discovered that the price we are offering is far below standard price, this is enough for you to know that we are not after the rental fee but the  absolute care for the property. I know there is no  way I can be sure that you are the right person to live in the house because we won't be able to see physical before sending you the keys and the documents to occupy the space. But I just had a  feeling that anyone who knows what it takes to put the kind of structure down should know that maintaining a building is mandatory, so if you belief you can take good care of the house and handle it like yours then I will be more than happy to let you rent the house.
Please if you are ready now to occupy the house kindly provide the information below for record purpose
 
PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
Full Name__________________________________________________ Home Phone (        ) ________________________
Date of Birth_________________________________
Other Phone (       ) ___________________
Current Address_______________________________Apt#________ City__________________ State______ Zip________
Reasons for Leaving____________________________Rent $__________Phone (       ) ____________________________
Are you married____________________________
How many people will be living in the house____________________________
How many people will be living in the house____________________________
Do you have a pet____________________________
Do you have a car____________________________
Occupation____________________________
Move In Date____________________________
How soon can you pay the deposit----------------------------------
 
TAKE NOTE: YOU CAN ONLY DRIVE BY AND SEE MY HOUSE FROM THE OUTSIDE AND IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN RENTING GET THE APPLICATION FORM FILLED OUT AND SEND IT BACK TO ME SO THAT I CAN  SHIP MY KEYS TO YOU FOR YOU BE ABLE TO GO AND LOOK AT THE INSIDE OR MOVE IN IMMEDIATELY. I WOULD HAVE REALLY LOVE TO SHIP THE KEYS TO SOMEONE IN STATE BUT I DON'T HAVE ANYBODY THERE RIGHT NOW AND I DON'T WANT TO MAKE USE OF ANY THIRD PARTY THAT IS WHY AM HANDLING MY PROPERTY MYSELF..
 
House Address
<property street address>
Saint Augustine, FL 32086
 
Monthly Fee ; $800
Security Deposit: $500
Pets Allowed:
Available :Available Now for move in.
 
So pls get back to me today.
I await your reply ASAP.
Regard and God bless you!!!
<Signed with owners name>
+234-702-907-5558

011-234-702-907-5558"

We went back on and looked this morning to see if the ad has been reposted.  It hasn't, but we found a different one that is posted both in St. Augustine and in the DC Metro area with the same pictures and same e-mail address (although not the address used for our listing). 

We think Craig's List is a wonderful tool for consumers and we do put our listings on there (and will continue to).  But be careful out there with online ads and do your homework!  And remember, if it sounds too good to be true...it PROBABLY is!

HOAs Keeping Control...or HOAs Out-of-Control? Shenanigans by Jacksonville Area HOAs and Do Residents Have a Choice?

At a time when homeowners are being squeezed by the current economic conditions, another problem is cropping up.  HOAs gone wild.  Jacksonville area HOAs are trying to make up budget deficits by charging the homeowners more...sound familiar?

HOAs serve a good purpose.  They keep the neighborhood (at least in theory) looking nice.

As a resident of a HOA, I'd rather see them cut their budget than further squeeze Jacksonville homeowners who are already strapped.

We got a notice in the mail from our HOA this week that knocked my socks off.

Our HOA dues have gone up 19% in the past two years (now at $158/month)...but now they want to impose a "special assessment" on the current homeowners for $200 per lot because of their own budget deficits.  They are having a special meeting so the board can vote to implement this.  And make no mistake...HOAs are not a democracy.

I'm just concerned that these types of decisions by area HOAs are just going to exacerbate the problem making it harder and harder for many homeowners to make ends meet. 

In addition, they are imposing what I lovingly refer to as a "short driveway tax."  From now on, cars parked in the street overnight (between 12 am and 5 am) will cost you "up to $1,000".  That's not about the few cars that are sometimes left in the street when overnight company is in town...that too is about the budget deficit.

Sorry friends...if I have you over...you have to pull out of the driveway no later than 11:59 pm! 

Sorry grandma and Aunt Beth...I happen to have a very short driveway because of where the house had to be put to save a few trees.  No more visits for you unless you park on my front lawn....wait a minute...that HAS to be some type of HOA violation...

Jacksonville named #9 on Forbes Best Cities to Buy a Home

Citing the sunshine, population growth and still climbing median home price Forbes named Jacksonville #9 on the Best Cities to Buy a Home list that just came out.  Forbes also mentions our fresh air and clean water.